January 2026
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust provides specialist mental health, addiction, learning disability, community health, and community children’s services for people across Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens, Warrington, and Halton.
Safeguarding is a fundamental part of everything we do. We are committed to protecting children, young people, and adults at risk from abuse, neglect, or harm, and to offering support when it is needed.
Safeguarding is embedded across all services and is considered a core responsibility for the organisation. We recognise that health, wellbeing, and safety do not exist in isolation, and that the impact of illness, distress, or vulnerability can extend beyond the individual.
This means we consider the needs of the whole family and wider support network when someone receives care from us. Practitioners working with adults actively consider the wellbeing and safety of any children in that person’s life, and those working with children consider the needs of parents, carers, and vulnerable adults. This helps us identify concerns early, understand wider circumstances, and respond in a proportionate and supportive way.
Our staff may ask questions about family, carers, and support networks to better understand your situation. If concerns are identified, we will respond by offering advice, support, signposting, or referrals where appropriate, and by working in partnership with other services to achieve the best possible outcomes.
Safeguarding does not automatically mean referrals to social care or formal interventions. Wherever possible, we will talk with you about concerns and involve you in decisions, unless someone is at immediate risk of harm.
The Trust Board of Directors have overall responsibility for safeguarding. A named Executive Lead for Safeguarding provides oversight and assurance, supported by clear governance arrangements that operate across all services.
Mersey Care works in line with key legislation and national guidance, including:
- The Children Act 1989 and 2004
- The Care Act 2014
- Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023)
- NHS Safeguarding Accountability and Assurance Framework.
For adults, our safeguarding practice is guided by Making Safeguarding Personal, which focuses on person-centred, outcome-focused support.
All staff, both clinical and non-clinical, receive safeguarding training appropriate to their role. We maintain safe recruitment practices, including enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks where required, identity and qualification checks, and ongoing monitoring of professional registration.
We have clear safeguarding policies that are regularly reviewed, aligned with local safeguarding arrangements, and accessible to all staff. These include policies on safeguarding children and adults, domestic abuse, managing allegations against staff, and people in positions of trust. Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards are supported by our specialist Mental Capacity Team.
We use a “Was Not Brought” approach rather than “Did Not Attend” to ensure children and vulnerable adults who miss appointments are followed up and supported, reducing the risk of harm.
We work closely with local safeguarding children partnerships, safeguarding adult boards, local authorities, police, education, and voluntary sector organisations. We actively contribute to multi agency reviews, audits, and shared learning.
Our safeguarding arrangements are regularly reviewed through audits, quality visits, training compliance monitoring, and case reviews. Learning from these activities is shared across the organisation to continuously improve practice and strengthen protection for those at risk.
Declaration
Mersey Care confirms that effective safeguarding arrangements are in place, are regularly reviewed, and are continuously improved to protect children, young people, and adults at risk. The Trust Board of Directors is assured that safeguarding responsibilities are understood and upheld at all levels of the organisation.
